Something Strange, Something New (One-Shot)
by LessonNumberOne
Summary: A One-Shot that takes place after the war and the gang had decided to finish their seventh year at Hogwarts. During their Hogsmeade trip, feelings are revealed that aren't as shocking as they should be.


Hermione scolded Ron and Harry as they hurried down the steps and down the corridor.

"Next time I won't wait for the two of you," Hermione hissed, pushing the doors of the Grand Hall open. She looked to see it was mostly empty and nearly everyone had finished eating breakfast and gone to prepare for the Hogsmeade trip that would take place that day.

"If we're late I'll hex the two of you and personally deduct the points myself," Hermione threatened.

"Merlin's beard Hermione! We won't be late, especially when we have you nagging us every minute," Ron snickered and Hermione playfully elbowed him in the stomach.

They all took their seat at the table and ate, avoiding too much conversation in order to not be held up too long and once they finished, they hurried out with another group of fellow students.

"There you three are! I knew you wouldn't miss a trip, even if your life depended on it," Professor McGonagall winked and gestured for them to join the group of students going as well.

"Hey guys," Neville greeted them as they approached and Hermione looked behind him to see Luna standing there, with her head appearing to be in the clouds, which wasn't unusual for the airy blonde.

"Good morning Hermione," Luna smiled, her eyes fixed on the brunette. Only Luna seemed to be capable of delivering such intensity through one look and Hermione found it rather unsettling.

"Good morning," Hermione acknowledged, her eyes shifting over to the boys to avoid the Ravenclaw's gaze.

"Hermione," Luna called, seeking the brunette's attention once more, "would you like to accompany me to Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop? I need new quills and I hear you're quite knowledgeable on the matter."

Hermione tried to think of a good excuse not to go, but she knew the boys would probably want to go to Spintwitches to look at sportswear and when she thought about it, there seemed to be no one else she'd care to spend her company with. Luna Lovegood was as good as any.

"Alright," she said politely, walking to the Ravenclaw who gleefully hooked her arm with Hermione and the brunette couldn't help but shake her head and chuckle. Luna Lovegood was a strange character.

* * *

As they entered the village, Luna had immediately tugged Hermione aside to head toward the Quill shop and the brunette didn't even attempt to protest as the blonde lead her quite eagerly.

Once they entered the shop, Hermione was surprised to learn that Luna was completely lost when it came to choosing a writing implement and tried to contain her laughter. So instead she'd kindly point out which would suit her without making the dreamy blonde feel too bad.

Once they were finished, Luna walked out triumphantly with her bag full of newly purchased items in hand and shot a gentle smile at Hermione who returned it gracefully.

"Shall we go to The Three Broomsticks?" Luna sang; the Gryffindor was beginning to enjoy herself, which seemed rather odd with the company she was with. She acknowledged that Luna had seen her as close minded and dimwitted, but after the war it was evident that people had realized that there was no room for grudges. So Hermione decided to do the same.

"I'd love to," she smiled and felt her face flush ever so slightly as the Ravenclaw took her hand and tugged her towards the local pub. She decided not to look into it too much since it was Luna Lovegood after all.

* * *

They both found a table available in the far back of the local pub and sat across from each other. Hermione noticed that Luna seemed to be acting rather strange, well stranger than usual. After a moment or so she decided to ask the bizarre girl what was bothering her.

"Are you alright Luna?"

The blonde's eyes seemed to be elsewhere and her eyes were scanning everyone in the room until they came to rest on Hermione.

"Actually-"

The Ravenclaw was soon cut off as the owner; Madam Rosmerta came to the table asking for their order.

"Two butterbeers please," Hermione replied, looking up to shoot the woman a kind smile before looking back down to Luna.

"Two butterbeers coming right up," Madam Rosmerta noted and Hermione watched her leave before urging the Ravenclaw on.

"You were saying?"

Luna seemed rather uncomfortable and took a deep breath as her eyes locked onto Hermione who sat patiently. Hesitantly, Luna placed her hand on the table atop of Hermione's before her eyes returned to Hermione.

"Luna?" Hermione questioned, looking from their hands to Luna and her eyes went wide as she saw each emotion revealed one-by-one through the Ravenclaw's swimming eyes.

But before she could say a single world, the hand atop of Hermione's was removed and they were rudely interrupted as their fellow friends called for their attention from the front of the pub. Despite the kind greeting she sent their way her mind was swimming at a thousand miles per hour as she pieced together what Luna had intended to tell her.

Luna Lovegood really was a bizarre character.

"You two seem rather cozy back here. One might even think you were trying to hide from us," Ron grinned and pulled out a seat beside his fellow Gryffindor.

"Now why would we ever want to hide from you Ronald?" Hermione smirked as the red head cringed at the sound of his full name.

"I have no idea. I consider myself quite lovely," Ron shot back. And for a moment they went back and forth with snide comebacks, seeming to ignore everyone else until they heard the scrapping of a chair against the floor as someone hastily pushed it out. Both of their eyes looked to see Luna getting up and leaving with a rather sullen look.

Hermione began to stand, but the look Luna had given her froze her in place and she regained her seat and watched the peculiar blonde exit pub until she could longer see her from the window.

"What was that about?" Harry asked, claiming Luna's discarded seat.

"I'm not quite sure," Hermione said and in a way she was being honest. She didn't have a single clue as to what must have been going on in that head of Luna's, but she remembered what had happened moments before between the two of them and she knew she couldn't just stay and ignore that.

"I'm sorry, but I should probably go check on her," Hermione apologized, standing to follow after the Ravenclaw. But she soon felt someone's hand on her wrist and she turned to see Ron with a disappointed expression.

"We just got here 'Mione," he told her.

"I know, you're right, but you know how I am Ron. I don't like leaving things unfinished, it simply isn't in my nature," she reminded him. Ron ruefully eased his grip until his hand slid away and she felt his eyes on her as she left the pub as well.

* * *

It hadn't taken Hermione too long to find Luna, remembering the direction she went it was obvious that she had gone back to Hogwarts' grounds. She began to look in the sensible of places, but then realized who she was looking for and began to look where someone with a huge amount of curiosity would be fulfilled.

"Luna," she panted as she approached the lake although it was awfully cold outside with winter setting in.

"Why did you come here?" Luna asked, perched up on a rock with her legs crossed beneath her. Her words weren't meant to be offensive or hold any hostility. It was a simple question with simple curiosity. And Hermione seemed to be incapable of thinking of an answer.

"I-I came to see if you were alright. You seemed awfully upset, the worst I've seen you even after the war…" Hermione trailed off. She was the last person that would speak about that awful war aloud. While her parents sat at home clueless about their daughter's existence she was fighting Voldemort and his loyal followers. It hurt her to think that if she died, her parents wouldn't have even blinked twice because she had removed the memories of their connection all together.

"I'm alright now or rather I will be. I've gone through much worse," Luna spoke and Hermione couldn't help but nod at this. They had been through so much worse. Still she couldn't bring herself to leave the girl and instead climbed up sit beside Luna on the rock while Luna looked at her with a bemused expression.

"I thought I'd never see the day when Hermione would do any sort of physical activity other than flip a page," she expressed.

"Possibly the wrackspurts have gotten me as well," Hermione teased playfully.

"Perhaps," the younger girl replied.

Then silence. Hermione seemed to struggle for a way to approach the topic of what had happened not too long ago and The Three Broomsticks while Luna seemed content with humming a familiar song.

"What are you humming?" Hermione asked, letting her curiosity replace her frustration.

"A muggle song Daddy had introduced to me over the summer. It's quite lovely," the Ravenclaw answered as she slightly swayed from side to side, brushing against Hermione's shoulder slightly each time, lingering there for a second. Hermione began to listen closer until the gears in her brain began to shift and realized it was _Canon in D Major_ by Johann Pachelbel.

"My father used to play that on the piano for me as a child. I'd always love to listen," Hermione said absent-mindedly as she recalled always asking her father to play that one song for her until she had learned she was a witch and gone off to study at Hogwarts. Priorities seemed to have gotten in the way of the things she cared about most. The things that made Hermione who was she today.

"Interesting," Luna said this so low it was almost inaudible.

"What is?" Hermione questioned.

"Oh nothing," Luna sighed resting her head on the brunette's shoulders and taking Hermione off guard, the brunette debated on whether or not she should say anything, but took comfort in the peace and quiet that was taking place around them.

"I don't know why I feel this way and to be quite frank, I'm perplexed on why I'd fall for someone so different from me. But as the muggles say 'opposites do attract' which couldn't be any more true," Luna sighed, interrupting the silence that surrounded them. Hermione could tell she was waiting for a response and this time there were no interruptions for the older girl to weasel her way out.

"What brought this on?" Hermione asked, not exactly wanting to be direct about her answer.

"When you returned to finish your seventh year with us, seeing you again stirred a lot of emotions that I couldn't quite interpret until I saw you with Ronald and the jealousy I felt. It wasn't too difficult for me to realize that I had grown feelings for you," she raised her head to look at Hermione. "But I wonder if I'm just being foolish."

"You are nowhere near foolish Luna... a-and there is nothing going on between Ron and me," Hermione disclosed. She had no idea why she felt compelled to share this fact with the Ravenclaw though there was a nagging feeling in the back of her mind that said otherwise.

Hermione was soon pulled from her thoughts when she had noticed the blonde's lips moving, commanding herself to tune in once more.

"…is that so?"

The brunette couldn't even muster a response and only gulped as she watched Luna closer, her mind racing at a thousand miles per minute. Merlin's beard, she was Hermione Granger! The girl who seemed to always have an abundance of words, yet there she was, completely flabbergasted and the staring at the girl before her with wide eyes.

"Luna?" she managed to croak out.

"If you wish for me to stop I will and we won't ever have to speak of this again," Luna assured her, her eyes still focused on the alluring lips of Hermione.

But she didn't want to stop, that's what was frightening her. She needed time to think, to evaluate all of the possible outcomes of their actions before they proceeded. And that's when it hit her. She wasn't supposed to be thinking, this wasn't a subject that required studying or one of the adventures she'd go on with Harry and Ron that required some planning. No, this was supposed to be a spontaneous action and here she was, _thinking_. Leave it to Hermione Granger to do such a thing.

So as Luna moved to pull back, Hermione stopped her by weaving her hand in the blonde's hair and pulled her closer as she moved to close the gap between the two. She almost fell from the rock the moments their lips collided, she hadn't expected the feelings that arose and never had she thought she'd feel something so soft, so addictive and she craved more. She tried not to gasp as she felt Luna's arm wrap around her waist, pulling her closer and their surroundings seemed to fade away, only focusing on the girl before her, kissing her back. She could taste her, feel her, this closeness she had only heard of in stories had appeared before her and there seemed to be no restrictions between the two and it seemed as if they were one person, moving in complete sync with one another as did their lips. She would have believed it all to be a fairy tale if it weren't for the overwhelming feelings that bombarded her thoughts.

"Wow," Luna gasped as they separated. Hermione only let out a breathy chucky, too breathless for words.

As she looked at the blonde, the thoughts she had pushed away before began to come back with vengeance. She recalled all the times she'd caught herself staring at the blonde throughout the years, the times she'd debate with the girl simply because Luna seemed to be the only one to challenge her. How she had rejected Ron because she didn't just want to be content with him. And the more she thought, the more it made sense for her to want someone like Luna, a girl who would intellectually challenge her, who would encourage her to try new things, but not force.

Luna would be that someone to teach her that the greatest knowledge didn't necessarily have to come from a book, but from being able to experience things herself. Like love, something she was _entirely _clueless on.

* * *

**AN: Just something from a while back that I decided to finish. I felt weird using British slang because it made me feel like a poser so yeah... and I turned this into a one shot since I suck at commitment and the time this was started was during the time I was in the Harry Potter fandom and shipped Luna and Hermione. Still do though, **_**still**_** do… **


End file.
